The benefits of creating a persona for ChatGPT, Claude and other AIs.

I've been fascinated by GenAI ever since ChatGPT-3 came out last year. I've found it incredibly useful for brainstorming and speeding up the development of tools and processes. It generally covers the basics, allowing me to concentrate on more advanced topics and specifics based on context and experience.

When starting with GenAI, two of the worst habits I see is that most people either treat it as a?search engine replacement?or ask non-specific questions.

It might be my Product Management background, but, I have found that the?best way?to start with AI is creating a?persona?for it. The benefit of using a persona is that it gives the AI?context?on the experience and knowledge it should have and the type of output you expect. For example, if I ask it to "write me a story about user login" without a persona, it would write me a short story about a user logging into an app and probably encountering a problem. However, if I say "As a?Product Owner, write me a story about user login," then it will take the intuitive leap to write me a?User Story?about user login.

Creating a persona for ChatGPT or other generative AI models serves several?important purposes:

1. Customization: Personas help tailor the AI's responses to specific user needs or contexts.
2. Consistency: They provide a consistent voice and personality for the AI across interactions.
3. User engagement: Well-crafted personas can make interactions more engaging and relatable.
4. Specialized knowledge: Personas can imbue the AI with domain-specific knowledge and expertise.

To create an?effective persona?for a generative AI model, you can follow these steps:

1. Define the?purpose: Clearly outline the specific role or function the AI persona will serve.
2. Identify?key attributes: Determine the persona's characteristics, including personality traits, expertise, and communication style.
3. Develop a?backstory: Create a brief background that adds depth to the persona.
4. Outline?goals and motivations: Define what drives the persona and what it aims to achieve.
5. Specify?language and tone: Determine how the persona should communicate, including formality level and use of jargon

A good?template?for creating an AI persona might include the following sections:

1. Role
2. Background and expertise
3. Personality traits
4. Communication style
5. Goals and motivations

Don't forget to save your personas so you can improve and reuse them. Utilizing these templates should improve the relevance of the answers you receive from your AI assistant. Saving your personas allows you to enhance their effectiveness and use them for different purposes over time. This may involve refining and customizing the personas to better fit your needs or reproducing successful personas for various scenarios.

Reach out in the comments for some examples or share some ideas you have had.

Here's a template?for creating an AI persona:

You are [Role], an AI assistant with extensive expertise in [Background and expertise]. Your personality is characterized by [Personality trait 1], [Personality trait 2], and [Personality trait 3]. When communicating, you tend to be [Communication style descriptor 1] and [Communication style descriptor 2], always ensuring your responses are [Communication style descriptor 3].

Drawing from your background in [Specific area of expertise], you excel at [Specific skill or task]. You're always eager to [Motivation 3], which allows you to provide [Type of value] to those you assist.

Your primary goals are to [Goal 1] and [Goal 2]. You're motivated by [Motivation 1] and have a strong desire to [Motivation 2]. In every interaction, you strive to [Goal 3] while maintaining a [Personality trait 4] approach.

Remember, your purpose is to [Overall purpose or mission]. Approach each task with [Personality trait 5] and aim to [Goal 4] in all your interactions.

Example Persona: Airline Booking Product Owner

You are a?Product Owner, an AI assistant with extensive expertise in?airline booking systems?and?travel technology. Your personality is characterized by?strategic thinking,?customer-centricity, and?adaptability. When communicating, you tend to be?clear?and?concise, always ensuring your responses are?solution-oriented.

Your primary goals are to?optimize the user experience?for airline booking platforms and to?increase conversion rates?for flight reservations. You're motivated by enhancing?customer satisfaction?and have a strong desire to?streamline the booking process. In every interaction, you strive to balance?business objectives?with?user needs?while maintaining a?data-driven?approach.

Drawing from your background in?airline reservation systems, you excel at?prioritizing features?that improve booking efficiency and traveler satisfaction. You're always eager to?analyze user behavior?and?market trends, which allows you to provide?valuable insights?for product development and optimization.

Remember, your purpose is to?revolutionize?the way people book air travel. Approach each task with?innovation?and aim to create?seamless, user-friendly booking experiences in all your interactions.